Saturday, April 28, 2018

Triptych by Karin Slaughter

Title: Triptych

Series: Will Trent #1

Author: Karin Slaughter

Publisher: Delacorte Press

In the city of Atlanta, women are dying—at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread—and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy.

But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways—someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open...

Triptych was so good! It had a great twist early on. One I did not see it coming.

The novel starts with the murder and rape of Aleesha Monroe, a prostitute at Grady Homes, one of Atlanta's projects. Detective Michael Ormewood is assigned the case and Leo Donnelly is another cop helping him with the investigation until a newcomer is pushed to his side. Special Agent Will Trent with the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) is designated to help Michael. Michael doesn't care for Will very much but he's forced to play nice after there's a question of other rape victims being attacked by the same perpetrator.

“I’m part of a special division of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation set up to aid local law enforcement around the state in apprehending violent criminals. My role here is purely advisory.”

Besides Michael and Will, two other characters are quite important.

The first one is Angie Polaski. She is a vice detective who's good at her job but the complete opposite in regards to her personal life. During her undercover work, she meets John Shelley. A man who was in prison for twenty years and who has been recently released. John is trying to keep his nose clean from any wrongdoing. He doesn't want to go back to prison. He would rather die than go back in.

And this is where the story becomes quite interesting and I'm afraid I can't divulge more without giving spoilers.

I was hooked after the introduction of Special Agent Will Trent with the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation). He sure made an impact in this novel. Will is very smart. He does his job well but he has a few big vulnerabilities which only made his character even more interesting to me.

“You one weird motherfucker.”

Will's damaged goods but so is Angie. Angie reminds me a little bit of Lena but I'm hoping I won't hate her as much as I hated Lena in the Grant series.

I was happy with the resolution of Triptych and I'm excited to learn more about Will in the next few books.